The Other Gilmore
by blushingbeauty86
Summary: When Lorelai's eighteen year old cousin turns up in Stars Hollow unannounced, a new character, a new love interest and a new trouble maker turn up as well.
1. Default Chapter

_**Alright, so this story starts in season three (I know, way back), in the episode 'Eight O'Clock At The Oasis'. It's only a few episodes before the dance that breaks up Rory and Dean. Anyway, there's a new Gilmore introduced and everything. Fancy that, THREE Gilmore Girls. Hope you like it.**_

"That'll be thirty dollars, miss."

Marie Gilmore lifted her head, realizing that she was supposed to be paying for her bus ticket to Stars Hollow. The older ticket booth man looked at her impatiently, obviously having had repeated the price to her several times before she noticed. Marie imagined that he had been stuck with this dead end job for too long for either of their good. She smiled apologetically and fished through her duffel bag for her wallet, her long, newly dark hair falling into her brown eyes and greatly hindering her performance.

The ticket man sighed loudly as Marie emptied out a large amount of change onto the counter and started to count it. It became evident that this was no new procedure for her as her nimble and numerously ringed fingers quickly sorted the change into piles of one dollar each, ending with twenty-six piles and sort out four creased one dollar bills to add to her fare.

Fifteen minutes later, the coach lurched into motion and Marie breathed a deep breath of relief and apprehension. Stars Hollow had not seen her in four years, since she and Rory had been fifteen. It was her home, although if asked directly, she would deny the fact profusely. She preferred to think of L.A. as her home.

She rolled her eyes as she caught a glimpse in the window of the reflection of the man who sat a few rows behind her, already fast asleep, two minutes into the six hour journey. She stifle a yawn herself and decided that the man was not really worthy of scorn but of appreciation of his wisdom so she pulled her hood further over her head and followed suit.

It was movie night at the Gilmore house. Lorelai and Rory had just arrived home from their weekly Friday night dinner with Emily and Richard Gilmore. An event Lorelai never failed to incessantly poke fun at, complain about and describe in derogatory ways.

"Oh, I should've told her that her friend's son has a terribly bad case of toe fungus that I fear may be contagious and that's why I couldn't possibly go out with him again," she hooted as she filed through the video cabinet and her daughter flopped on the couch in front of the TV.

"What the 'my extracurricular activities as a highly trained and frequently requested exotic dancer slash cleaner at our local strip joint is inferring with my social life' excuse didn't get enough of a reaction out of grandma?" Rory replied dryly.

"Oh yeah. That was pretty good, huh?" Lorelai grinned as she pulled out two videos.

"Grandma was horrified," Rory sighed.

Lorelai nodded and narrowed her eyes, "Exactly."

Rory rolled her eyes as her mother stood in front of her with the two chosen videos behind her back conspicuously. She slowly drew out one.

"Choice number one, not by coincidence, is the romantic comedy 'Crybaby', starring the then teen heartthrob, Johnny Depp. An all time favorite, the film is highly acclaimed by Lorelai Gilmore for it's classic and heart touching 'because electricity killed my parents' scene, bound to jerk a few tears," Lorelai summarized the film before pulling out the other video behind her back, sighing loudly.

"And choice number two is 'Rambo: First Blood'. Although this is the first movie in a trilogy, one would think that it was the fifth installment in a terrible drawn out torturous cycle of B grade movies that producers with way too much money put out just to terrorize the public for fun. Amid supposedly infuriatingly humiliating shower scenes and incredible amounts of property damage is the occasional whining and attemptedly gruff comment from ol' Sly-"

"Why are you asking me when it's obvious you've made your decision?" Rory interrupted the all important synopsis.

Lorelai pouted, "Can't a mother pretend to care about her daughter's opinion anymore these days?"

"Fine. Just put 'Crybaby' on. It's what I wanted to watch all along," Rory lied to skip the end of her mother's ranting about 'Rambo: First Blood'. Lorelai grinned in triumph before turning to put the video in the VCR.

"I don't know about you but the scene Amy Locane jumps on the hood of the car and sings to the sheriff to let Johnny out always makes me cry," she smiled.

She glanced at her daughter as the movie started, "So, whos' winning in the raging 'Dean vs. Jess' saga?"

"No one's winning, there's no saga. I love Dean. That's it," Rory answered quickly, shooting down all of the questions her mother could possibly have.

It was one in the morning when the coach pulled into the bus station a few miles away from the Hollow. After retrieving her solo piece of luggage, Marie hailed down a cab.

"You want to go to Stars Hollow?" the cab driver asked in suprise. Marie cursed silently.

He had recognized her.

"Yeah. It's not far, right?" she asked casually.

"No," the cab driver shook his head numbly, not taking his eyes off of her, "You changed your hair."

"The blonde was too hard to maintain... Is the meter going?" Marie frowned.

The cab driver jumped into action, apologizing profusely. Marie gave him the directions to the only place she could think to go.

Luke mumbled something indiscernible as a loud knocking was heard on the door of the diner below. He assumed he had dreamt it when he cracked an eye open groggily and saw '1:24' in infra red on the face of the digital clock by his bed. He rolled over and prepared to drift back to sleep when the knock sounded again. Only louder and more urgent. He opened narrowed eyes, trying to work out who would have the nerve to wake him at such an ungodly hour. The knocking sounded again and a groan was heard on the other side of the room, fondly referred to as an apartment.

"Answer it," Jess muttered, pulling his pillow over his head.

"We're not open," Luke stated stubbornly as the offending person knocked again.

"Unless you want whoever it is to keep us up until we _are_ open, go answer it," Jess mumbled, his demand muffled by the pillow on his face.

Luke sighed and dragged himself out of bed to look out the window that overlooked the entrance below. He saw a small frame of a young female below as she knocked yet again on the glass door of the diner.

"We're not open!" he called down.

She took no notice, much to his frustration. She knocked again.

"Hey! I just said we're not open. Come back in the morning!"

The only response was another incessant knock on the door.

Luke shot a glare over at Jess' sleeping form as he stalked to the door of the apartment and grabbed his baseball cap.

"If this is one of your girlfriends, you'll have hell to pay," he growled. Jess smirked.

Stumbling down the stairs, Luke muttered angrily under his breath. He was still muttering as he reached the door and hastily unlocked it.

"What the hell do you want!" he exclaimed at the knocker before the door was barely open.

Large honey eyes stared back at him through wisps of dark curly hair and sleepy recognition furrowed his brow.

"Marie?"

"Hi, Luke," the girl smiled sheepishly, shivering with the late November cold.

Luke took another moment to realize that it was, in fact, the girl whom he knew well but had not heard from in years before a welcoming grin brightened his face and he pulled her into a tight hug that she returned just as tightly.

"Come in," he smiled, closing the door against the icy chill in the air outside behind her.

"Sorry to intrude with no warning in the middle of the night," she apologized with mock lack of concern and he laughed, turning on the coffee machine instinctively.

"No problem. I love having people wake me up at one in the morning in winter," he lied sarcastically.

"See, that's why I came here," she pointed out, "Your amazingly warm, hospitable charm."

"I thought you were in LA," he told her. She shrugged as she sat on one of the stools at the counter.

"Thought I'd come home for the holidays."

"You still call this place home? I'm sure Miss Patty would be over the moon."

Marie grinned at the mention of her old drama teacher, "She's still here, eh?"

"Are you kidding? The woman would probably be in a vegetative state if she didn't have the Stars Hollow Rumor Mill to keep running," Luke sighed as he poured a couple of mugs of coffee. He didn't need to ask her if she wanted three sugars, half milk and half cream. Marie smiled gratefully as her placed the hot mug in front of her. A short silence followed.

"So, how have you been?" Luke asked finally, a question that both parties had been wanting to avoid.

"You mean you don't know already?" Marie replied, staring at her coffee as her smile wavered. Luke wished he had left the question to itself.

"Well, I wasn't sure what to believe. Nothing sounded like you."

"Nothing sounded like me when you knew me, when I was fifteen, right? I've changed...," Marie drifted off, not particularly wanting to go further.

Luke observed her. Damn right, she'd changed. She was still undeniably beautiful, just more tired than he had remembered. And there was nothing to her, she was rake thin. He supposed that meant the anorexia claims could not be completely thrown at the window. Her hair, which used to be strawberry blonde, after that a platinum blonde, was now a drastically dark auburn. She had the worry lines of someone twice her age and her dark eyes no longer twinkled happily like they used to, instead seeming distant. Her frequent laughter had been replaced with bitter smirks.

She had changed.

"Are you planning on seeing Lorelai and Rory?" Luke changed the subject.

"Of course. I just didn't feel like waking them up so early," Marie replied.

"But with me on the other hand, you were fine with banging down the door in the middle of the night," Luke finished and she grinned, nodding.

"Will you need somewhere to stay for a while?" he asked her.

"Just for tonight. Then I'll probably stay with Lorelai," she told him and he nodded, collecting her empty mug.

A few minutes later and after Marie's profuse declining, Luke changed the sheets on his bed and dragged up an old matters beside the fold out couch that Jess presently snored on. At the early morning hour, he forgot to mention Jess to their guest.

After another half hour when Luke's clock read '2:24', all were asleep.

Marie's shriek from the bathroom could be heard from all the way down in the noisy diner the next morning. Luke looked up from the coffee he was pouring for Kirk, worried. Kirk looked above his head to where the apartment would be and then back at Luke with disgrace on his face.

"I didn't know you were entertaining upstairs, Luke."

Luke's head whirled to face him, "What?"

"Who is it? Some poor young girl that you lured up there with your coffee and pancakes?" Kirk further interrogated.

Luke screwed up his face in a puzzled frown, "What?"

Kirk only clucked his tongue disapprovingly and continued reading the paper before him. Luke made haste for the stairs. He met a bewildered looking Jess half way up the hall to the apartment. Jess pulled him inside and motioned towards the bathroom.

"Is it just me or is Jessica Starling in our shower?" he whispered, pushing him towards the now locked door. Luke sighed, having forgotten to inform his nephew of their guest.

"Yes."

Jess' eyes widened, "So it's not just me?"

Luke nodded. Jess waited for further explanation. Luke offered none.

"What is she doing here?" Jess pressed impatiently in a hushed tone, "Why is there a celebrity in our shower?"

"She was staying the night. She used to live here when she was younger... long story," Luke replied gruffly.

"Luke! Luke, is that you?" Marie called from the bathroom, "You have a pervert in your apartment!"

"Settle down, Marie, he lives here," Luke called back.

Jess frowned, "Why did you just call her, Marie?"

"Her name's Marie Gilmore. You don't honestly think people still use their real names in Hollywood, do you?" Luke asked incredulously.

"Gilmore? Her name is Marie Gilmore?" Jess repeated loudly, in a state of disbelief and shock.

"I understand that that may be an incredibly interesting little piece of information but I would appreciate it if you kept a lid on it," Luke hushed, closing the apartment door. Jess nodded numbly.

"But how is she a Gilmore?" he whispered.

"She's Lorelai's cousin. Richard's brother's daughter," Luke replied quickly as the bathroom door opened and Marie peeked out.

"You could've told me there was someone else living here, Luke," she told him, trying to hide an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry. This is Jess, my nephew. Jess, this is Marie," Luke introduced the two awkwardly.

"Hi," Marie greeted, holding out her hand. Jess stared at it for a moment before realising that it was for him to shake and he quickly obliged. Luke suddenly felt a little uneasy about leaving the two up in the apartment alone, hence his decision to request Jess' help downstairs and tell Marie that he would take her to see the other Gilmores in a couple of hours.

All taken care of.


	2. The Performance

_Thankyou for the reviews._

_So I forgot to mention that I have no claim to Gilmore Girls. Such a shame. And I'm sure as it came as a suprise that you may have a bit of trouble getting over._

_Yeah, ...right. On with the story._

"Oh, I was just about to come see you," Luke greeted when he saw Lorelai and Rory sitting at the counter. Lorelai stared blankly at him.

"What, do you do coffee deliveries now? Because if it was just a friendly visit that you had in mind, I highly doubt that you'd have gotten the positive reaction you were looking for without coffee in hand," she informed him apologetically.

"What a shame. I was expecting you to roll out the red carpet, hire a Big Band to play when I arrived, the whole shindig," Luke replied sarcastically.

"I could've played 'Hot Cross Buns' on the recorder if you wanted," Rory offered.

"Now, there's hospitality, heh?" Lorelai winked.

"Actually, you have a visitor that I was going to escort to your place once breakfast was over," Luke said elusively as he poured to mugs of coffee.

"I knew Johnny would come for me some day!" Lorelai cried in delight. Luke shot Rory a questioning look.

"Johnny Depp obsessed. We watched 'Crybaby' last night. She quoted Amy Locane's lines the whole way through and pretended he was singing to her. Very disturbing," she filled him in.

"Right," Luke nodded.

"Hi, Rory," Jess greeted, very low key as he passed by.

"Hi," Rory returned quietly. Lorelai stared after him.

"Hi, Jess! Yeah, I'm doing just fine. Thanks for asking," she said sarcastically before turning back to Luke with a curious smile, "So, this visitor. Do they come with bunny suit intact?"

"No," Luke frowned.

"...Do they come on bikes with bibles and little wooden crosses?"

"No."

"...Oh, I know. Rory, it's that extremely, filthy rich guy who claims he was my lover in the past life. Luke, did he have a prominent birthmark behind his right ear? 'Cause if he did, it's not _really_ him," Lorelai told him secretly.

"I will definately keep that in mind for the next time a guy claims to have been your lover in the past life," Luke assured her, "This visitor, however, is female and goes by the name of Jessica Starling."

Lorelai and Rory looked at eachother, brows creased when they asked in unison, "Marie?" Luke nodded.

"Marie is in Stars Hollow?" Lorelai whispered, shooting a glance over her shoulder to be sure that no one else had heard the news. Kirk quickly went back to pretending to read his newspaper.

"But I thought she was in LA," Rory commented in a hushed tone.

"So did I. But apparently she's home for the holidays," Luke shrugged, trying to act natural under the straying glances of the snooping customers in the restaurant.

"Where is she?" Lorelai quietly inquired. Luke shot a look above his head to the apartment.

Lorelai and Rory quickly slipped upstairs.

Marie flicked on the TV just as _Entertainment Weekly_ was starting.

"...all about truth tonight at E.W. We will unveil the truth in the rumours surrounding the Olsen Twins money troubles, Brad Pitt's plan to buy the multi-million dollar fast food company, McDonalds and the shock disappearance of up and coming actress, Jessica Starling. Don't go away, now."

Marie widened her eyes, exasperated, at the screen. They widened all the more when a knock sounded at the door and she quickly turned off the TV. She bit her lip before striding to the door.

"Who is it?" she inquired bluntly.

"Oh my God! It's really her! Excuse me, Miss Starling, can we have your autograph!"

Marie rolled her eyes and unlocked and opened the door, "Hi, Lorelai."

"All your cousin gets is 'hi'?" Lorelai demanded, pulling the girl into a tight embrace, "I am shocked and appalled. What have they been teaching you at this highly prestigious and very expensive all girls school that I sent you to?"

"Well, Lorelai, there is something I should of told you a while ago. I haven't actually been going to that school that you've been spending all that money on. I've taken to flirting with, seducing and otherwise making out with famous actors on the big screen instead," Marie informed her sadly.

"What is this 'Big Screen' you talk about with such fervor?" Lorelai mused as Marie pulled Rory into a hug.

"It's so good to see you," Rory grinned.

"You too. How'd you find out I was here?" Marie asked.

"Luke. And though I must admit that it was a bit of a let down to discover that Johnny hadn't come for me yet, we're still very happy to have you," Lorelai slipped an arm around Marie's shoulders.

"Johnny? ...Not going to ask," Marie decided.

"Smart move," Rory sighed.

"Where's your stuff?" Lorelai asked eagerly. Marie disappeared into the apartment momentarily and returned with her duffel bag, ready to leave.

Lorelai and Rory stared at her blankly, unmoving.

"...That's your stuff?" Rory checked, pointing at Marie's bag. Marie frowned and looked down to her average looking piece of luggage.

"Yes."

"That's all you brought? But where's your exclusive Calvin Klein wardrobe? And your expensive Sachi shoe collection?... And our gifts?" Lorelai pouted. Marie laughed. Lorelai had never been one for subtlety.

"It was kind of just a spontaneous decision to come to Stars Hollow. I didn't have time to go shopping for you," she told her cousin apologetically. Lorelai pouted more as Rory rolled her eyes.

"Mom. She's our guest. Don't you think you're being a little impolite?"

"You can't blame me for being a little disappointed that my cousin has been in Hollywood for five years and can't even manage to bring home an expensive lip gloss or perfume... nalipolish... foot scrub... waxing lotion... even a Estee Lauder nailpolish _remover_ would've been just fine," Lorelai whined, stomping her foot like a spoiled child.

"Sorry, Lorelai," Marie smiled as they closed the door behind her and started making their way back down the hall.

"See, I'd accept that if you had brought some expensive clothes and shoes for your poor family instead. Do you know that Rory had had the same pair of leather boots for three _months_ now? You have to understand that we are really roughing it compared to you glamorous actors and actresses," Lorelai sighed sadly.

"Sorry, Lorelai," Marie apologized again.

Lorelai sniffled as they started down the stairs. It was then that they heard the commotion coming from the diner. They slowed slightly but kept coming down the stairs, pausing to listen at the bottom.

Luke had been trying to keep the curiosity of the crowd under control while the Gilmores had been talking upstairs.

"Who is it, Luke?"

"Why can't I know? I won't tell anyone."

"Just give me their name. That's it."

More people had turned up. Miss Patty, notably. And not far behind her came a group of excited looking men, followed by a cranky looking Taylor. Luke sighed, shooting a pleading look at Jess who sat on one of the stools, nonplussed. Jess caught the look.

"What do you want me to do? Put on a stripped shirt, fling a bit of rope around the room and start a Royal Rumble?" he smirked.

"I'll bet you get compliments all the time on your helpful suggestions from your teachers at school," Luke replied sarcastically before turning back to the murmuring, nosey crowd, "Unless you're here for coffee, get out."

"Diplomatic," Jess commented.

"Thanks, Henry Kissinger," Luke scowled. Jess nodded to signal he was welcome.

"Luke! Luke!" Miss Patty called as she pushed her way through the rest of the crowd, "Oh, Luke! Please don't tell me it's true!"

"Tell you what's not true?" Luke asked testily.

Miss Patty shot a few dramatic glances around her before leaning in close, "Has Rory come down with yellow fever?"

Luke just frowned in puzzlement and shook his head before lifting up his hands to catch everyone's attention.

"Okay, everybody. I hardly think my coffee attracted all of you so if you're here for other reasons, it's time to leave the restaurant. There's nothing to see here."

"He's right. Everybody out!" Taylor commanded loudly. Luke looked at him in suprise.

"And what did I do to gain your favor, Taylor?"

"You interrupted my Men's Self Help And Understanding meeting," Taylor informed him huffily, pointing out the group of men he had followed there, "They all came running when Miss Patty paraded down the street shouting that there was a fight at Luke's."

Luke cocked his head to Miss Patty, "I thought you thought that Rory had come down with yellow fever."

She shrugged, "Well, that I was informed of only after I passed Taylor's meeting. Before then I was under the impression that Kirk had picked a fight with the new postman."

Luke shook his head in confusion and shouted at the crowd again, "Everybody out now! There's nothing here!"

Unfortunately, it was at that moment that Lorelai, Rory and Marie chose to sneak down, appearing at the bottom of the stairs and returning the crowd's stare of awe. Luke lifted his brows in suprise at the sudden silence that had befallen the people filling his restaurant. It appeared that he was being listened to.

"...Uh, thankyou. Now, if you could all just go home and-"

"Luke," Jess interrupted.

"Be quiet, Jess. Now, you can all come for coffee some other time but-"

"Luke!" Jess exclaimed, motioning towards the three Gilmores standing awkwardly. Lorelai fluttered her fingers, a tight thankful smile on her lips at his attempts, failed or not.

That was as long as the silence lasted. Both of the names 'Marie Gilmore' and 'Jessica Starling' were thrown around, some sounding negative and others reminiscent. Marie looked at the floor to avoid the eyes that scrutinized her freely. Luke quickly piped up again.

"Alright, even if there is something here for you all to see, you're all going to have to leave!"

"Right now!" Taylor added pointedly at his group of men who needed to learn self help and understanding. Miss Patty smiled and waved at Marie before ushering out the large crowd of vocally disappointed on lookers.

"That went well," Jess said quietly once all were gone.

"Quite the performance," Luke added.

"Well done," Rory congratulated Marie who rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, if only the Oscar committee had seen that one, eh?"

"I'm late for work and I still haven't had a coffee," Lorelai sighed.

All eyes turned to her.

She shrugged, dragging her feet out the door and Rory and Marie followed slowly.


	3. Cover Couple

_Sorry if this one is hard to keep up with. I'm trying to make sure I get the snappy conversation thing down pat. And please, please, please review because I'm not sure if people are liking this or not..._

"Lorelai..."

"Yes, Mom?"

"You're telling me that you can't go out with my friend's son again because, out of the goodness of your heart, you are currently dating the homeless man that you met yesterday."

"Yes, Mom, that is what I'm telling you."

"Lorelai!"

"Yes, Mom?"

"Stop being childish."

"Yes, Mom."

"What is this homeless man's name?"

"... Bill."

"Bill the Homeless Man. How original."

"I thought so."

"What are the plans for your date with him tonight?"

"Well, first, just to break the ice, he's going to take me to where he keeps his trolley. Then, I was thinking that maybe we could find a nice, romantic soup kitchen nearby. And then, to finish the night off, we'll go back to my place because his alley might be a little uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable for what, exactly?"

"Mom! Must I really go into details here? I'm at work!"

"You're going to sleep with the homeless man."

"His name is Bill."

"You're being ridiculous, Lorelai."

"If dating a homeless man is no longer charitable but deserving of ridicule, someone definately forgot to fill me in."

"Will your new relationship interfere with our Friday night dinners?"

"Of course not. In fact, Rory and I have a guest coming with us this week."

"You are not bringing a homeless man into my house, Lorelai."

"But, Mom! He's given his solemn word not to even _think _of stealing anything!"

"Lorelai."

"It's not Bill. It's someone else."

"You're not going to tell me?"

"No."

Emily sighed, "Goodbye, Lorelai."

"Bye, Mom," Lorelai grinned before setting the phone back down on the hook.

"That was your mother?" Michel inquired airily, not looking up as he sifted through paperwork.

"No. Oprah just wanted to know if I could make an appearance on the show this week. Her ratings are low, that sort of thing," Lorelai sighed as though burdened.

Michel ignored her sarcasm and continued about her mother, "Why didn't you tell her that you are bringing her brother-in-law's illegitimate, movie star daughter to dinner?"

"Oh, you know. Didn't really come up," Lorelai shrugged distractedly as some guests approached.

Michel smirked knowingly.

_(Back at the Gilmore house...)_

Marie stumbled into the kitchen, half asleep and rubbing at her eyes grumpily. She pulled her borrowed robe tighter around her against the early morning cold and made her way to the fridge. Opening the door, she frowned, "Pizza... out of date milk... marshmallows... more pizza... TV dinner lasagna... _more_ pizza."

She gave up on the search for actual edible food and instead put the kettle on and pulled down a mug and coffee. She didn't hear the side door open as she crossed back to the fridge and looked for milk that was still drinkable according to the normal world's standards.

"Oh my God..."

Marie's head popped up over the fridge door, eyes wide. She saw a tall boy about her age with dark hair and eyes just as wide as hers.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"I'm Dean. But you're Jessica Starling!" the boy exclaimed.

"Nice observation. But Dean, who exactly are you?"

"I'm Rory's boyfriend. But you're a famous actress!"

"Rory doesn't have a boyfriend...," Marie frowned.

"That's news to me. Why are you in my girlfriend's house?"

"Whether or not Rory is your girlfriend is still yet to be decided. And I'm staying here. Lorelai is my cousin. Why are you sneaking in through the side door?"

"I don't think I should really have to convince you that my girlfriend is my girlfriend. And you're Lorelai's cousin? That makes you... what, my girlfriend's mother's cousin? I came in through here because Lorelai's at work, Rory's asleep and I didn't know anyone else was in. Wait, she didn't tell you about me?"

Marie stared blankly at him, the conversation become more disconnected and confusing as it evolved further. Dean took a breath and it caught in his throat when he focused on something behind her. Marie turned to see Rory standing in the doorway.

"Good morning, people," Rory mumbled, glancing back and forth between the two other people in the kitchen.

"Rory, you didn't tell her about me?" Dean said just as Marie greeted "Good morning" in return.

"Dean, she's only been here a day or so. I just... forgot," Rory muttered, still half asleep. Dean visibly tensed and Marie bit her lip. All realised that the wisest choice of words had not been used.

"You know what? I'm going to go get changed. Nice meeting you, Dean," Marie smiled awkwardly before retreating back to Rory's room.

When she emerged a half hour later, freshly changed, made up and brushed, she could still hear urgent, hushed voices coming from the kitchen. She hesitated before sticking her head into the room.

"I'm going out for a while. I'll see you later," she told Rory and left before she could hear anything being said.

It had snowed over night and the Christmas decorations hung around town looked especially festive, flaunting their light dusting of white. Marie hugged her thick jacket closer around her and tucked her chin into her scarf to help the cause of keeping warm as she tried to recall where Luke's was from the Gilmore house. Straying stares followed her down the street jaws fell agape as she passed but they went successfully unnoticed.

It only took her twenty minutes to complete the four minute walking journey to the diner and it was none to soon; she was hungry and short of her morning caffeine hit. She took a seat at the counter and glanced at the "No Cell Phones" sign in front of her.

"What can I get you?"

She looked up to see Jess standing in front of her, head down looking at his pen poised above his notebook.

"Hi," she greeted happily.

He glanced up and couldn't hide his slight suprise at seeing her. She smiled more and he smirked.

"Hi. Lorelai and Rory haven't killed you yet, I see."

"Yet. They put on 'Demolition Man' last night."

"And you're still here?"

"Wesley Snipes and Sylvester Stallone in one movie is a crime."

"That's what you get with a director like Marco Brambilla," he shrugged.

"He's not really that bad," she countered.

"Oh, yeah. He directed one of yours, right? The one about the horses and the rabid ferrets that you had to save them from."

"Nice synopsis."

"I try."

"Did you see it?" Marie asked curiously

"Do I look like I usually see movies about horses and rabid ferrets?" Jess replied sarcastically.

"More of the 'my neighbor ate my fence and now I'm vulnerable' type of guy, eh?"

"Oh, yeah. Gets me every time," he admitted before pausing, "... You didn't really do a film about your neighbor eating your fence, did you?"

She laughed before reminding him, "Didn't you ask me what you could get me?"

"What, they're not feeding you now?"

"I'm actually kind of thankful for that considering the contents of their fridge but it's more about a certain conversation taking place that I don't really want much to do with," she explained, "And I'll have the... blueberry pancakes and a coffee, two creams, three sugars."

"Dean and Rory? And we're out of blueberries."

She let mock suprise lift her brows, "No blueberries? But that only leaves plan pancakes. And how did you know it was Dean and Rory?"

He shook his head, "They can't always be Stars Hollow's cover couple. And I'm sure you'll make do with the plan pancakes. They're highly underrated."

"Do I sense bitterness about the happy couple?" she inquired lightly, nodding to signal that she would settle for the plan pancakes.

"Why would I be bitter?"

"Why don't you tell me?"

"Why would I tell you if I was bitter?"

"Do you always answer questions with questions?" Marie asked

"Do you?" Jess shot back.

"No. See?" she smiled.

"Aren't we counting 'See?' as a question?" he cocked a brow.

"I don't know. Who came up with the rules?"

"So, now this is a game?"

"You said it," she shrugged.

"And you just lost," he smirked, "I'll be back with your pancakes."

"And coffee!" Marie called after him. She smiled at Luke as he approached. He was about to greet her when he paused, looking at the man that, until now, had gone unnoticed while sitting a few stools away from Marie, harmlessly reading a newspaper.

"Kirk, what are you doing at the counter?" Luke asked him.

"I am a customer, Luke. Customers have the right to sit wherever they please in the diner," Kirk replied, not looking up from his newspaper.

"But you never sit at the counter. You always sit at the table two from the furthest right window. You have a fit if someone is sitting at your table when you come in," Luke reminded him incredulously.

"I have found that change is good for the imagination, Luke. This is only one of the many changes I have made in my life to help my imagination flourish."

Luke and Marie eyed him cautiously.

"And since when has developing your imagination become such a big ordeal?" Luke asked Kirk, playing along.

"Since I became a writer," Kirk sniffed.

"A writer?" Luke asked.

"Well, a script writer to be exact," Kirk elaborated.

Luke nodded knowingly as Kirk turned to Marie, "Any movies in the making at the moment?"

She shook her head and he continued, "I think I may have something here that you may be interested in. It's some of my best work."

He proceeded to reach into his bag and pull out a thick notebook that was filled with loose leaflets. He shoved it into her hand.

"May I suggest that you do not wait too long to give me an answer. I'm handing it out to several other highly esteemed actors at the moment so your place on the cast is only certain if you get in first," Kirk told Marie seriously.

"You usually hand scripts in to producers first," Marie informed him.

"Consider yourself lucky, then," Kirk replied, unphased as he left the diner.

"Oh, yeah, we got lots of talent in Stars Hollow," Luke sighed and Marie giggled as she started to filter through the notebook.


End file.
